Occupational Health & Safety
Creating safe, healthy working environments
Ensuring employee safety in the workplace is a crucial component of Astellas’ management philosophy. Along with providing a pleasant workplace for its employees, who are key Company stakeholders, Astellas believes that one of its major responsibilities is to ensure employee safety.
Since its inception in 2005, Astellas has not experienced any accidents leading to the loss of life among employees (including contract employees and business contractors). However, there have been more than a few incidents with the potential to cause a major accident. In order to prevent such work-related accidents and minimize the impact when such accidents occur, Astellas is promoting initiatives to ensure the safety of its working environments. These initiatives include activities based on knowledge obtained from past experience and consideration of measures to identify and address work-related risks.
The Company will continue to share information regarding occupational safety and accident prevention throughout the Group, based on the belief that business sites will be able to utilize this information including case examples of work-related accidents to lower risk on an ongoing basis.
Occupational Health & Safety Action Plan
Astellas has drawn up an Occupational Health & Safety Action Plan for the purpose of maintaining and securing a safe work environment, preventing work-related accidents, and minimizing accidents caused by workplace mishaps. The Astellas Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) Policy and Guidelines set forth unified standards that identify Astellas’ aspirations in its EHS activities. Based on this policy and guidelines, Astellas is building an EHS management system at each business site and promoting related activities.
| Severity Rate of Work-Related Injuries |
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| Risk Assessment |
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Incidence of Work-Related Injuries 
To prevent work-related accidents, we share information on work-related accidents and near-misses that have occurred at business sites in Japan and overseas, without identifying any individuals involved. We are striving from more diverse perspectives to ensure a safe work environment.
From January to December 2021, there were no work-related fatalities, while there were 10 cases of injuries requiring leaves of absence. The longest number of work days lost was 81 days due to a fracture in an accident while transporting machinery. Driving sales fleets was limited due to the impact of COVID-19, which resulted in a reduction of work-related accidents accompanying fleet use. We will strive for risk reduction activities on a global scale to maintain a work-related accident severity rate of 0.005 or less so that the severity rate does not decline due to external factors.
Global
| 2019.1-12 | 2020.1-12 | 2021.1-12 | |
| Number of work-related injuries (leave of absence) | 19 | 6 | 10 |
| Frequency rate of work-related injuries *1 | 0.58 | 0.18 | 0.33 |
| Severity rate of work-related injuries *2 | 0.244 | 0.005 | 0.008 |
Number of work-related injuries (leave of absence), frequency rate of work-related injuries and severity rate of work-related injuries for 2019 due to its recognition in 2021 as an occupational accident. Severity rate of work-related injuries for 2020 has been revised due to settlement of days lost in an occupational accident in 2021.
Japan
| 2019.1-12 | 2020.1-12 | 2021.1-12 | |
| Number of work-related injuries (leave of absence) | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Frequency rate of work-related injuries *1 | 0.25 | 0.09 | 0.10 |
| Severity rate of work-related injuries *2 | 0.627 | 0.000 | 0.002 |
Number of work-related injuries (leave of absence), frequency rate of work-related injuries and severity rate of work-related injuries for 2019 have been revised due to its recognition in 2021 as an occupational accident.
US
| 2019.1-12 | 2020.1-12 | 2021.1-12 | |
| Number of work-related injuries (leave of absence) | 11 | 1 | 3 |
| Frequency rate of work-related injuries *1 | 1.87 | 0.15 | 0.42 |
| Severity rate of work-related injuries *2 | 0.069 | 0.000 | 0.012 |
Established Markets
| 2019.1-12 | 2020.1-12 | 2021.1-12 | |
| Number of work-related injuries (leave of absence) | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Frequency rate of work-related injuries *1 | 0.28 | 0.40 | 0.57 |
| Severity rate of work-related injuries *2 | 0.001 | 0.014 | 0.008 |
Severity rates of work-related injuries for 2020 has been revised due to settlement of days lost in an occupational accident in 2021.
Greater China
| 2019.1-12 | 2020.1-12 | 2021.1-12 | |
| Number of work-related injuries (leave of absence) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Frequency rate of work-related injuries *1 | 0 | 0.30 | 0.82 |
| Severity rate of work-related injuries *2 | 0 | 0.015 | 0.036 |
International Markets
| 2019.1-12 | 2020.1-12 | 2021.1-12 | |
| Number of work-related injuries (leave of absence) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Frequency rate of work-related injuries *1 | 0.72 | 0 | 0 |
| Severity rate of work-related injuries *2 | 0.006 | 0 | 0 |
*1 Frequency rate of work-related injuries: This rate shows the number of employee deaths or injuries resulting from work-related accidents causing leave of absence per million hours of work. The larger the number, the more frequently work-related injuries occur.
*2 Severity rate of work-related injuries: This rate shows the number of lost work days due to work-related injuries per thousand hours worked. The higher the number, the more serious the injury.
The performance indicators denoted by this symbol have been assured independently by KPMG AZSA Sustainability Co., Ltd.
Independent Assurance Report（PDF）
Safety Initiatives
Astellas is building management systems related to occupational health and safety, security, accident prevention and other priorities, and is making well-organized and systematic efforts to implement occupational health and safety management activities. Astellas employees are required to give top priority to safety in all business operations, as confirmed by both management and labor. Moreover, Astellas strives to ensure the safety of all of its workers. With regard to safety management of business contractors, regular safety education is regulated under the Astellas EHS Policy and Guidelines and Astellas requires business contractors obtain permission to perform certain tasks, as necessary. Furthermore, Astellas has built a system to prevent accidents and other troubles in such ways as providing information on hazards and harmfulness related to outsourced operations to companies commissioned to conduct operations in Astellas business sites.
In addition, it will be crucial to continuously develop occupational health and safety managers with specialized skills, and provide the training needed to integrate the approved procedures into day-to-day activities. Accordingly, Astellas has been improving skills by fostering collaboration between business sites and divisions, along with enhancing various safety education initiatives.
At business sites that must be established under laws and regulations, Astellas has set up occupational health and safety committees led by the business site manager and attended by representatives of labor and management. These committees meet on a regular basis to hold discussions on maintaining occupational health and safety, and safe workplace environments. The committees conduct activities such as identifying hazards, performing risk assessments and sharing information on occupational health and safety.